VATIS UPDATE Article

According to data analysed by leading consultancy and knowledge services provider Bridge to India, the country’s total renewable capacity including solar, wind, bio-mass and small hydro grew by around 11.2 GW in FY 2016-17, at par with thermal capacity addition, which registered a decline of 50% in the year. As per the data published by the government, India added 5,526 MW of new solar capacity (up 83% over FY 2015-16) and 5,400 MW of new wind capacity (up 63%) in the year.

While these numbers are impressive, it is worth noting that the solar capacity addition including rooftop solar is almost 50% below the annual target of 12,000 MW. In contrast, wind capacity addition was +35% over the 4,000 MW target. India added 5.8 GW of renewable capacity in a single month as implementing agencies pushed for commissioning of projects before the close of the financial year. There has been a downward trend in new renewable allocations in FY 2016-17 and the 2017-18 target of 20,450 MW will be impossible to meet.

As renewables continue to grow, prospects for thermal capacity addition seem limited and we expect re-newables to decisively beat thermal capacity addition in the coming years. The figures released by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, suggest that March was a blockbuster month with addition of 5.8 GW renewable capacity in a single month – more than the combined figure for previous eleven months.